


A Challenge to Love

by CaffeinatedBunny



Category: Greek and Roman Mythology, Original Work
Genre: F/F, Love Stories, Magical Elements, Mythology - Freeform, Snapshots, Tumblr: Writing-prompt-s
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-24
Updated: 2019-02-16
Packaged: 2019-10-15 15:39:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17531504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaffeinatedBunny/pseuds/CaffeinatedBunny
Summary: After your last heartbreak, you swore off love. You don’t believe in it and simply refuse to give it another chance. One day a beautiful lady sits next to you on a park bench. She introduces herself as Love, and she has accepted your challenge.





	1. Chapter 1

“Hi, I’m Love; and I am more than happy to accept the challenge to swear me off.” The tone was bright as someone sits down beside you on the wooden bench in the corner of the park that was hardly anyone else's favorite spot. You always came to sit here on a day off when the weather was nice, for the quiet due to the distance from the jungle gym and the parents who had their children out and about. Your book forgotten in your lap as you turn to look at the stranger who had decided to speak to you as if you knew what she was talking about; joining you on what you had come to consider your bench.

You stare, you know your staring but you can’t take your eyes off the lady who’d sat beside you and proclaimed herself Love, spoke that she accepted your challenge like it was an everyday thing. Swallowing thickly you try to gather your thoughts but they are slow like they are coming through honey; she’s beautiful, beautiful in away you didn’t think many people were. There was a glow about her, golden, bright and warm, her eyes were dark brown with flecks of amber in their depths, so rich and deep with emotions. Her skin a warm umber colour with a lush golden glow at her cheeks just as warm as her chocolate eyes, she looked effervescent in the summer sun sitting beside you on the park bench. Liking your lips your finally gather yourself, found your voice that had vanished just as the butterflies had appeared in the pit of yourself. 

“How...?” Your words fail you as you try to comprehend the meaning of her words, confusion and nervousness making your hands twitch.

“Come now, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten your pledge to swear of Love and all my entrapment's? Did you not think that I wouldn’t hear?” Love questions, arching her brow even as she continues to smile softly, warmly at me. There’s a look to her face that is expectant and hopeful all rolled into one like she’s waiting for my answer. 

“A..alright.” You finally manage to say, tucking a strand of mouse brown hair behind your ear, feeling as plain and unremarkable as ever next to someone who was as beautiful as she was. Your hair straight and limp about your shoulders compared to her lush thick mane of twisted ebony locks. Quickly glancing to the ground as you wonder what made your decision so important, your disbelief so important that Love herself; if she actually was the embodiment of love? But how else would she had known of your swearing off all entrapment's of the romantic kind? After all you only said as much to Emily as you shared a bottle of wine two months ago. That Love herself sought you out personally, you weren’t anything special, just another broke, struggling young woman who’d had a series of misadventures in dating that had all ended up terribly with your heart broke.

The woman laughs, it wasn’t like bells or chimes, no it was a normal laugh but there was a delightful sincerity about it that made it wondrous to hear, from the little snort that started it to the little choke at the end. “Oh your so cute when you blush, now come darling; I’m taking you for coffee. You look like you could use the caffeine and someone who can show you what love and romance really mean.” Her voice is sweet, but thick with a honey like drawl that pulls your attention back to her and away from the ground. 

“You have so much love to give, your heart is full of it; you used to glow with it but now you’ve let so much pain dim it to all but nothing. It broke my heart to see you so low so when I heard your refusal to love again, well I took that as a challenge and darling your going to be worth the time.” She speaks up as if you had spoken allowed and again your stunned and staring at her as you allow her to pull you from the bench and lead down the path to where your not sure but she’s warm beside you, her hand comfortable and an easy fit in your own like it was built to be held by her. 

“So what your going to take me on a date and magically I’ll be fine?” You ask with a small frown as you roll your eyes in disbelief at the idea; one date wouldn’t change your mind not at all. You’ve seen what love can do and how much it can hurt so better to just live your life and continue as you have been. There was no such thing as true love, honest love; no. Everyone was out looking to get something from someone else without actually giving something back.

“Oh no darling, not one date; no. I’m going to woo you, seduce you and love you till you love me back because half the wonder of love is finding all the little things that build and make such a wondrous emotion grow, bloom and thrive. So you’re stuck with me I’m afraid, because I want to experience all that you can give, want to learn all the little things about you.” Love says, and there was that snorting laugh once more as she easily walks you both to the end of the park and across the busy street to a cafe you had never noticed before. It’s warm and bathed in light, the scent of coffee thick and delicious in the air around them, curious and confused you allow her to lead you to a booth. You’ve never noticed this cafe before, but then again it’s in the opposite direction that you normally go in but there was something about this place that seemed so not of this world, something other.

"What would you like to drink Darling? My treat." The offer distracts you as you settle into the booth, pulling your full attention back to Love with a small nervous smile. You think about your normal order but it just seemed so bland and boring in this new space so with a bit of a hesitation you finally ask her to surprise you with something sweet.

It’s hours later, as the sun is starting to set that you realize you’ve spent your whole day off sitting across from Love, talking, laughing, learning and there’s something in your chest, something growing in the middle of the hollowed empty hole you had cultivated for weeks, no months since the last heartbreak. It flutters there, like a baby bird; fragile and small but it sets alight in you something wondrous and full of hope.

Stunned you realize, you’ve been holding hands with Love for the last hour and you don’t want to let go.


	2. Loves Anniversary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A second glimpse into the life of Love and the girl who stole her heart. Was supposed to be uploaded for Valentines day but I ended up working so I hope you enjoy.

It was coming up onto a year, a whole year together with Love; and you can’t help but wonder when she was going to call it done. After all you had been woo’d, seduced and loved… her plan had worked, you had fallen head over heels for her, for her kindness and her laugh. You had fallen quicker than you ever had before so now wasn’t it time for her to leave? Declare the challenge over with and that she had obviously won even as her leaving would leave you devastated once more? Swallowing thickly you curl up tighter in the over large chair you occupied, pulling your throw blanket tighter around you even though the warmth of spring was settling heavy in your apartment. Sunlight streaming through the large windows in your reading nook, but you can’t help but feel oh so blue, tears making your sight blurry while your throat is so tight it was a struggle to swallow. 

You can’t see this ending well for you, not with Love having left late last night for her place wherever it was considering you had never been over there; she had never offered to take you or show you but then again if she was exactly what you thought she was, what she said she was would you have been even allowed in the realm of the gods? The snort bursts out of you roughly as the idea that she was still a goddess hadn’t been proven or disproved even a year later. Lifting a hand you pull it over your face as you fight back a sob as pain radiates through you. 

You had never been to her place, never seen where she goes some nights even as she spends most of the evening here with you; she even had a key free to come and go in your place as she willed when no one else you had dated had ever gotten such a thing. And wasn’t that the crux of it? 

“Your too introverted!”  
“Your so secretive!”  
“Do you even want to be with me?”   
“Don’t you trust me?” 

For all that you had cared for everyone you had dated, they all had found you lacking; either you were too quiet for their tastes, didn’t divulge enough of who you were, didn’t show how much you cared enough or didn’t trust them with your life. The complaints went on and on and in every way you just hadn’t been enough, hadn’t been their ideal and you had come to realize with Loves help that you didn’t have to be perfect or make yourself to be something you weren’t for another. Love wasn’t about contorting, displacing or hiding who you were to gain your partner’s approval love was about becoming something more together with another partner, creating and building a life on a solid foundation. 

So here you were having let Love in, trusted her with everything you are; opened your home to the other woman happily, delightedly and wholeheartedly, built the beginnings of a life with her and now you were going to have to watch it come apart. The challenge had been won, you had learned the lesson of what love was really meant to be, how it needed to be nurtured and cared for to flourish. It was going to hurt losing Love but you were finding that you weren’t afraid of the lose like you had been before. Before Love you had feared being alone, hated being lonely with everything that you were, the emptiness that seemed to engulf your whole being, till you felt hollowed out and cold to the bones. A shudder rolls through you as you bury your face into your knees no longer able to hold back the sobs or the tears and they are flowing freely; you don’t want this to be over but you can’t figure out how to fight for what you want. You’ve never had the need to fight to keep someone before and that should have been another clue as to why none of your previous relationships worked. How can you convince Love to stay, not leave you behind; what could you do to show her that you weren’t ready for the end that was fast approaching.

“Cee-Cee Darling!” The cry was heartbreaking as was the depth of the worry that seemed to be infused with the words, but they only made you cry harder as you clutch at the blanket holding it tight to you as if it could shield you from the pain. “What has you so upset sweetheart?” Her hands were gentle as she carded her fingers through your hair with one hand while the other tugged at the throw blanket so she could try and find your hand. Sniffling you grip the blanket tighter not wanting to reach out for the comfort that she offered when the knowledge of the end was so obvious to you. Love had been spending more and more nights away from you, where ever it was she went when not here in your apartment that you started to consider theirs. This space was no long your’s alone, there was their love-seat and their bed, their table ready for two but soon that would all go and you would be alone once more, a they, we, us halved to just an I, a me. 

What would it be like to be a single person again after so long as apart of a duo? 

“Come on darling, just look at me and tell me what has you so upset; I’ll make it all better I promise you know how I hate seeing you cry…” There was a pain in her voice that you found impossible to ignore because the last thing you wanted was to make her hurt, no matter that your own heart feels like it’s shattering. So you finally pull your face from your knees with a sniffle and turn towards Love, unable to stop your bottom lip from trembling. 

“You won the challenge… I’m here, heart overflowing with love for you Love and I can’t help but wonder when you will leave…” You barely manage to choke out, your chest tight with pain as more tears fall; your eyes are so sore from all the tears you’ve cried. You already know what’s coming you can see it all in your head, playing out like a movie, so when her strong arms wrap around your waist as she buries her face in your side you can’t help the gaps that falls from you.

“Oh my sweet, sweet darling. Oh Cee-Cee, my beloved no. No, no, no… I’m not leaving you. I never planned to; I knew I should have told you all this so much sooner but I never knew how to bring it up and tell you.” She murmurs as she holds onto you tighter, pushing her face into your side as she lets out a shuddering breath. “I’ve seen you out and about, saw you from afar; saw how much love you had to give and how you just kept missing the mark and I fell in love with how your soul glowed so beautifully golden and your heartbeat a song for devotion true and knew how much I wanted you. So when I heard your challenge I knew I had one shot, one shot only to keep your golden glow in this world and I took it. I have never been happier than I have been with you for this last year.” Love declares before she’s looking up, their eyes meeting and there is a sadness in her’s that breaks your heart and you can’t help but reach out to cup her cheek with a trembling hand. 

“You’ve been spending more and more time gone though?” You ask nervously, unable to stop the insecurity from taking hold even as there’s nothing more that you want then to just ignore all your questions and doubts and just believe in her. That what you have, even with the secrets; was worth all the small heartbreaks.

“Oh darling, I’ve been getting things ready for a surprise for you; for our Anniversary; but I guess there’s no reason to delay in giving it considering….” Love says with a soft laugh before she’s leaning in to press a quick kiss to your lips, a smile pulling brightening up her face, her eyes glowing with warmth. 

“Considering we had our first cup of coffee together this time last year?” You finish off the sentence with a small watery laugh even as a blush heats your cheeks.

“You got that right sweetheart, but cup of coffee I had all year, now come one I’ll show you the answer to all your questions; where I go when I’m not spending the night, where I called home before I found you and what your surprise is.” Love assures you before she’s standing and taking your hand to lead you out of your apartment, blanket and all; shushing you as a questioning sound passes your lips as she leads your up the stairs of the apartment building to the penthouse floor. 

“Love?” You hesitate as she stands before the suites door before she’s pulling out a key to open the door and ushers you inside. The space is open and bright; sunlight falling through the large expanse of windows and through the skylights. Everything is done is subtle grey’s and heather, with white accents; giving the whole space an airy feel that was completely different from your own space that had plants covering every flat surface, the dull taupe walls that made it look smaller then it probably was.

“I own the building, but I love your place; I don’t want you… us to lose it so I got a hold of a few contractors and I’m looking to see about opening the living are up to here that way you could have the solarium you always wanted with all the plants plus you could use the rest of the space for your studio and whatever else you wanted…” Her words trail off as she turns to nervously look at you and you realize this is the first time you’ve ever really seen Love this unsure of herself and what would happen next as she swallows thickly as she grips your hand tight. You watch as she drags her plush bottom lip through her teeth before continuing on after a quiet moment. “I was planning on telling you sooner, about me owning the building but it just never seemed like the right time and the implications were just too many.” 

“Did you over hear me that night with Emily, is that how you knew about the challenge?” You ask, trembling now as the thought hits you and suddenly there’s so much more to think about and question and Love was right the implications were and are too many. 

“No! No, I wasn’t even in the building when you were here with Emily, sharing that bottle of wine; no I am Love, exactly what I told you I was last year when I joined you in the park. Come now sweetheart you’ve seen me use my gifts don’t start disbelieving now, but Fortune and Fate like to work in their own ways and they love to set up meet cute's like no ones business. You’ve met them, in the courtyard when you first moved in and you have tea with them in the summer out there. 

“Oh my goodness, Dorothea and Enid?” You gasp in shock, a hand flying to cover your mouth in shock as you stand there blinking in surprise and realization. “Why did they choose Enid as a name to go by?” You can’t help the question from coming considering both were goddesses in their own right but Enid? 

Love bursts out laughing even as she carefully leads you over to a couch so you could sit as shock still threatens to pull your legs out from under you. “A sense of humor that and they wanted a go at playing at being mortal and they’ve been here for quite a few years now plus again their play with meet cute's. Fate and Fortune aren’t the only ones to make this building their home; there’s a few others but don’t worry about that for now. Are you mad?” 

“Wait so you really were the cause for those two young men to get into a row only to have the big man with the pout lips to scream out ‘Because I’m in love with you Arthur?’ Right there in the street. I could never quite fully believe it, wait that means you were also the cause of the man tripping and spilling his tea on the fancy lady who was reading the murder mystery at the Cafe!” You say with a slow shake of your head while you grip her hand tight needing her close as you work through everything now. “No… not mad just a little shaken. So your not leaving me?” 

“No I’m not leaving you, if anything I want you by my side for however long you will have me, Cecily Clarissa Bennett; I want to give you everything.” Love says softly before leaning in and once more kissing you softly and slowly; the type of kiss you have only had with her. A kiss that made made the world seem to stop, like there was only the both of you in a moment suspended in time. It stole your breath in the sweetness of it as you lean into her warmth.


End file.
